Crashing Into Tess (25 page)

Tess sat by the fire, a blanket
over her shoulders, bathed
in happiness.
Things might actually work out for us, after
all. He really loves me.
She watched Jake come back down
the steps, towards her, illuminated by the firelight, and her
heart welled with the rightness of him.

He sat close, and she curled against him. Taking her
chin in his hands, he kissed her, deep and long and slow,
and she leaned into him, her hand on his heart, feeling it
beat, strong and safe and steady.

No one else could ever make me feel this way.
I can’t
imagine ever wanting to be with anyone as much as I want
to be with Jake.

Gently, he ran a finger along her jaw, tracking a line
down her neck, and spoke. “I meant what I said earlier,
about wanting so much to be able to just adore you, Tess,
everyday. I’ve been thinking about how to best let you
know how much I trust you.”

He touched her left fingertips. They fluttered from her
cast, papery white in the fire light, and he nestled them
against the strong, dark bulk of his chest. “Tessie,” Jake
murmured, kissing her cheek, her eyelids, her forehead. “I
called your Dad while you and Cassie were finishing up
with the puppies.” She felt something cold against her
palm, and looked down to see a diamond flashing there.
“This is my mother’s ring. We’ll pick one out for you, if
you’ll have Cassie and I.”

He slipped out from beneath her, helped her to sit, and
got down on one knee, the fire blazing the outline of his
shoulders. “Will you marry me, Tess?”

Astonished, she looked into his eyes. They were sober,
and quiet, but in them, she could see his joy, and his
resolve, profound and deep.

Choked with emotion, she said, “I’d really like to marry
you, Jake.”
He slipped the ring on her left finger, kissed her
fingertips and took her in his arms, taking her lips with a
deep passion that resonated to her core.
After the kiss, he said, “I love you so much, Tess.”
“I love you too, Jake. No life could offer me what I can
have here with you and Cassie. I can’t imagine wanting
anything as much as I want a life with you two.”

“Neither could I, Tess,” Jake said, kissing her again.
As
she responded, he pulled her hungrily to the soft rug on the
floor. “I’ve so missed you, baby. I’ve so wanted you for
mine.”

“I’m yours now,” she smiled. He kissed her again, with
deep desire to have her completely, this woman who would
be his wife. Peeling back the layers of separation that had
kept them apart, they stripped each other to the flesh, eager
to move beyond hurt and pain.

Naked, her nipples erect, Tess offered herself to Jake
with complete abandon. Unable to hold back, he wrapped
her legs around his waist, and plunged deep into her sweet
ripeness. She responded with freedom and conviction.
Consumed by fervor, they were lost in the ecstasy of their
togetherness, stripped bare of everything but their desire to
sanctify their commitment.

The heat rose in waves as he thrust himself into her
again and again, whispering his love for her in a voice that
grew hoarse with passion. As they climaxed together, Tess
clasped his back with strong fingers as she writhed and
bucked in ecstasy beneath him, crying out for him.

They laid quietly together until their breathing slowed.
He ran a finger down her naked side, beneath the blanket,
and she looked up, into his eyes, hers clear and gentle and
happier than he’d ever seen her. “It’s never been this way,
for me,” she whispered.

“Me neither,” he smiled, letting his lips wander over his
face, feeling his heart break open again for her. “And that
was just the first time, my darling sweetness.” He folding
her against him, and carried Tess gently to his bed.

They rested there, but neither could sleep. When she
turned to him, her mouth was hot and ready. He suckled
her, nuzzling her breast, and she moaned and opened for
him. Again, he entered her, and they
joined
together in his
bed, crying out passionately, sealing their devotion to each
other once more.

When Tess heard tiny feet padding across the floor
and
felt a small cold hand reach under Jake’s down comforter,
touching her arm, she opened her eyes.

Two little amber orbs peeped at her face, and a thin
voice whispered. “Dr. Tess, what are you doing in
Mommy’s spot?”

“Morning Cassie,” Tess whispered back. The rising sun
glinted on the white bare bark of the tall aspen outside
Jake’s window.

Taking Cassie’s small cold hand in hers, she smiled at
the sweet face of the little girl, her step daughter, now. The
warm bulk of Jake’s leg pinned her down, his arm over her
naked waist under the covers.

What am I wearing?
She took careful mental inventory
before she whispered, “It’s cold, Cass, you should have
your robe and slippers on.”

“I woke up and wanted to see the puppies, so I came in
to get Daddy. I didn’t think I’d find you here, though, Dr.
Tess. You usually stay in the guest room,” Cassie said, her
little voice tinged with curiosity. “Did you have a sleep
over? ”

“We did. Let’s let Daddy sleep awhile, Cassie, I’ll take
you downstairs,” Tess whispered. “We’ll go see what
Rhiannon and her puppies are up to. You go get your robe
and slippers and I’ll meet you in the hallway, okay?”

When Cassie was out of the room, Tess found her bag
on the floor against Jake’s bureau.
He must have carried my
bag up after the puppies were born.
Stretched across the
bed, Jake opened one eye as she slipped into her t-shirt and
jeans. In a sleep-drowsy voice, he said, “You handled that
well.”

“Thank you. I’m in training, now. I guess we can
dispense with the “Dr. Tess” tag now, huh?” she grinned,
leaning to kiss his bristled cheek.

Grabbing her, he wrapped his strong arms around her
torso and pulled her close. “We can. But it’s torture when
Dr. Tess leaves my warm bed before the sun is up.”

“Get used to it. We’ve got a kid to raise,” she laughed.
“And we’ll do it together, won’t we, my gorgeous,
radiant, sassy bride?” he asked, smacking her denim clad

He squeezed her finger just above the ring, and she
smiled into his very satisfied, sleepy eyes. “You had plenty
of Dr. Tess last night,” she whispered, plastering his face
with kisses, her smile irrepressible.

“I did get my share of Dr. Tess last night, didn’t I? And
I will again. Many times,” Jake said, his groggy voice
assured and very content.

“We’ll have plenty of mornings together. It’s my turn to
be with Cassie now,” she said, pulling herself away.
Cassie was waiting on the landing, pixie-cute in her
fuzzy lime green robe and red wool slippers. “C’mon, Dr.
Tess, let’s go see Rhiannon. We should be thinking of
names for those puppies, huh?”
“Great idea, Cass.”
“It was a good that Daddy had a sleepover with you,”
Cassie said, taking Tess’s hand and leading her down the
stairs. “He and my mom argued a lot, and none of us liked
that very much. He’s really happy when you’re around, I
can tell. It’s good to see him smile. Tilda isn’t here on
Sundays, and Daddy and I make pancakes. Sometimes we
put blueberries in them, or chocolate chips, with banana.
You can have pancakes with us this morning, if you want,
Dr. Tess. Do you like pancakes?”
“I do like pancakes, Cassie.”
“Let’s take care of the puppies, then we can have
pancakes. You should stay over tonight, too, Dr. Tess. We
really like having you here.”

To:
[email protected]
From:
[email protected]
Subject: Re: That’s my girl!
Date: November 20

Thanks for your love, advice and understanding, and
most of all, your blessings! I can’t tell you how happy I am,
how happy we are, together, finally!

I’m so glad you are feeling better ~ Jake and Cassie
and I can’t wait to see you and Mom and Sam and Archie at
the ranch for New Year’s Eve~ A puppy for every lap!

I’m truly the happiest girl in the world! Thanks for
helping me stay on course, always, Dad. I have so much to
be thankful for ~

To:
[email protected]
From:
[email protected]
Subject: Girls in White Dresses
Date: December 25, 1:05 AM

Break into the wine cellar, Yahoo Cowgirl, and let Aunt
Olivia go wild for your Bridal Spectacular in July at
McGreer Ranch, because Archie and I will be keeping Mom
busy with our December Nuptial Event at the Four Seasons
in Philadelphia~

Diamonds truly are a girl’s best friend, especially when
I get to share all that sparkles and shines with my super
sweet sister! Who would have thought things could get so
glamorously glittery for the Bam Girls?? So many
weddings, so little time! ( And such perfect husbands, to
boot!!)

Can’t wait to see you next week and meet Jake~ Let’s
plan a New York White Dress Whirlwind ASAP. Merry
Christmas, my darling sister, and enough Love, Love, Love
to fill the Planet, or at least, get us all from Philadelphia to
Green Junction and back!

6 McGreer Lane
State Route 359
Green Junction, CO, 68432
May 3, 2012

Rancho Nuevo Rehabilitation Center
3851 Rancho Blvd,
Denver, CO 80205

Dear Tess,
!
!
Thank you for bringing Cassie by last week for her
visit. I was glad we had a minute to talk. It’s six
months that I’ve been here now, and I leave soon for Los
Angeles. I’ll do outpatient treatment there, and find a
job, staying with my mother to begin with, probably
for awhile. It means a lot to me that you and Jake have
stuck by me. I know how terribly I behaved, in so
many ways.

!
As much as I hated Green Junction, I know now
that it was really myself I was hating, too. Though if I
never see another snow capped mountain, it will be too
soon.
!
!
I’ve talked to my therapist a lot, about how I hurt
you, and Jake, and Cassie. I keep remembering
watching Cassie leap out of my car that terrible day,
into your arms. I saw the way you held her. I think its
right that you two are together.
!
I wasn’t really ever a very good mother. From the
time she was a baby, I felt overwhelmed. I blamed it all
on Jake, but now I see what the problem was. I was
taking pills even then, to cope. I didn’t know how else
to manage. Everything was always too much for me,
from the time my parents divorced. Before then, even. I
hated you from the time I saw you, probably because
you had so much going for you, but I know better,
now.

!
Cassie seems happy. I guess I always knew she
would be, at the ranch. I’m trying to start over with a
clean slate, and I just want to say I’m sorry, about
what I did to Cassie, and about your arm too.

!
I know Cassie’s life is much better now. You’re a
good mother for her Tess, better than I ever was, and
she’s lucky to have Jake as a dad, too. I’m really, really
glad Cassie is with you both. I want to make a good life
for myself, but I still have a lot of work to do. I hope
Cassie will be a bigger part of it, someday, and I hope I
can count on you to help with that, when the time
comes.
!
I feel like you might even be willing to be a friend?
I hope I can earn that, so I can count on you, too, the
way Jake and Cassie do. It would mean so much to me.

I remember the jaw-dropping wonder I first felt
traveling to Colorado. It was fun to capture the natural
beauty of Tess’s adventure and her new life in that
gorgeous place, as she emerges from a care-free thrill
seeker to a loving partner and committed stepmother.

I’m always available for book-signings, readings and
appearances, especially to benefit my reader’s favorite
animal shelters and rescues. Please visit my website,
LillyChristine.com, to find out more, or contact me at
[email protected]

Visit the next pages to read excerpts from my
short story “The Right Kinda Bull” about Jake’s
cousin, Ty McGreer, and my coming novel, “Eva
Smashing & Dashing”. Check back on Amazon for
Eva soon!

Lindsay Robbins tossed short red curls from her face
and peered at the night docket, “
Ty McGreer, 6312 Red Rock
Ranch Road, Elliston, TX. Black Angus bull weanling calf, # 2319,
colic/irritated gut, possible obstruction. Departure time 3:37 PM.
Expected arrival 6:30 PM.”

She hurried to the locker room, clattering down
concrete steps in flex-step clogs.
Ty McGreer? Why does that
name sound familiar?
The client’s name didn’t really matter;
she only had fifteen minutes to prep for his bull calf ’s
surgery.

Ty McGreer decelerated down the off-ramp, slowly
braking before the intersection. Checking his side-view
mirror, he clicked the blinker and turned right onto
Raymond Stoltzer Parkway.

Hours before, he’d found his favorite weanling bull calf
in the pasture, sweating and kicking at his stomach. Doc
Barnes admitted his hands weren’t as steady as they used to
be, and suggested Ty take the ride to College Station.

Texas A&M, Ty’s alma mater, was three hours from the
ranch. It was July; high summer, and way too hot. He
hoped his little black Angus bull calf was holding up back
there, leaning on his momma. They’d be at the clinic in just
a few minutes.
******

Lindsay walked into surgery in green scrubs and
booties, glad that Samantha was on. Sam was her favorite
vet tech, and a super competent surgical assistant.
Scratching the soft, ruffly spot between the little calf ’s ears,
Lindsay looked over the ultrasound, which showed a white,
spherical object, lodged firmly in the tiny ruminant’s first
stomach.